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RecommendationsByBruneiYouth2012
MEMORANDUM Preamble His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam through his government has spent millions of dollars to invest in the development and training of youth to be able to specialize in different fields for the benefits of the country. This was highlighted in His Majesty’s titah during his visit to London, United Kingdom on 1st May 2011. “Brunei Darussalam is in need of intellects from its own people. This is why my government is willing to spend millions to send students and officers overseas to obtain qualifications in different fields that are required by the country.” We, the young people of Brunei Darussalam are committed to translating the Vision 2035 to reality by working closely with the government, private sector and civil society organisations in compliance with the national philosophy of Malay Islamic Monarchy. As stated by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports during a dialogue session in 2012, “Youth leaders should look at the strengths and patterns of youth association leadership, which is sustainable, creative, and innovative with integrity to fulfill the requirements to lead youths, in line with the MIB concepts and goals of the country's Vision 2035 while also instilling the goals to produce a Zikir Nation.” It is our firm belief that youth play an important role in the national development of our nation, however to realise the strong participation of youth, different stakeholders have to work together in order to achieve the objectives stated in the National Youth Policy by ensuring youth mainstreaming in the government policies and programmes. Therefore, it is crucial that youth are given the opportunities to effectively and strongly participate in decision making processes through the provision of important perspectives, taking ownership of the trajectory of the Brunei Darussalam’s development path leading towards Vision 2035. We, the youth of Brunei Darussalam, have gathered in Bandar Seri Begawan, from 23rd to 26th June 2012 during the Commonwealth Youth Programme: Youth Leadership and Advocacy Workshop and worked with zeal and ardour in order to develop the following recommendations, which we would like to submit for your consideration and necessary actions. National Youth Policy We further recommend that there should be a clear Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to measure the success of youth programmes and also objectives of the National Youth Policy. We urge the government to recognise the social ills and issues faced by the youth to be addressed in the National Youth Policy, such as gender issues, which is not included in the current National Youth Policy. We recommend that the definition of youth in Brunei to be changed to “young men and women aged 15-35”, including youth institutional and organizational leadership positions. Youth Leaders beyond 35 can take advisory role and to mentor and guide the second generation leaders. We urge that the National Youth Policy needs to be reviewed through meaningful engagement of different stakeholders including young people in order to develop a responsive and comprehensive National Youth Policy. In the current National Youth Policy, it has been stated that “This National Youth Policy will be reviewed once not more than every four years. The review processes will involve various relevant agencies.” However, this has not been reviewed since the introduction of the National Youth Policy in 2002. Youth Participation We recommend that the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports give more opportunities for youth to be involved in national events, such as the National Youth Day every 1st August, as part of the working committee. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports needs to look into the “red tapes” that could restrict the freedom of youth associations from implementing their own projects. We suggest that the National Youth Day should give opportunities to youth to showcase their talent or passion or a cause of their choice such as Philanthropy, Creative Arts, Sports, etc. We recommend that youth participation should be encouraged and incorporated in the education sector. This will allow youth to be more involved in extra curricular activities without being viewed as abandoning their studies. We express the hope that Public Private Partnerships are encouraged to promote more youth activities and diversify its scope. We recommend that trainings and workshops should be introduced and organised in each district to ensure maximum participation and representation. We recommend that there should be better exposure and advertising of events, as most youth are not aware of the activities and events conducted in Brunei. Organisers should improve advertising through social media, traditional media and road shows, amongst other things. We recognise that sports are a growing interest amongst today’s youth. However, there is not enough participation of youth in sports activities thus more chances should be offered to youth who are not part of the national team through sports schemes or competition. The lack of youth involvement could also be due to lack of promotion. To increase youth participation in sport events, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and sports association need to work closely by strengthening coordination and communication. Youth Centre We express our hope that the Youth Centres in Brunei are upgraded and maintained regularly, to include facilities to help youth to become more productive and sociable through: Designs should incorporate a youthful flair through paintings, murals or art expressions. There should be more space so that youth can have a stop centre to organise events, discussions and have fun-filled activities. Introducing a food court or a café that is affordable for the youth, and run by youth. Expansion of halls and residential areas, one for projects under Youth and Sports Department and another for youth associations. We recommend the rebranding of the Youth Centres to also include staff development, so as to be more receptive towards the needs of youth. We urge the department to reemphasize the “rebranding” of Youth Centre such as: Shuttle buses to-and-from Royal Regalia parking area due to the limited parking space. To delegate and assign youth to assist in the running of the centre to promote facilities to other youth. Youth Development Centre We urge that the Youth Development Centre or Pusat Pembangunan Belia (PPB) as a safety net for unemployed and unskilled youth to provide more extensive skills training in basic and intermediate levels to increase employability of youth. We recommend that the Youth Development Centre create new courses, training schemes and apprenticeship programme that are marketable in the working sector to generate more employment opportunities, such as through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). We recommend that the Youth Development Centre look into providing job placements outside the country. Measures should be taken to ensure that the youth are safe and protected. We urge the government to establish new Youth Development Centre in all districts to accommodate more unemployed youth for trainings. Youth Fund We are concerned about the proposed Youth Fund which has yet to be initiated and urge relevant authorities to review back and to respond regarding the mentioned issue. Should the Youth Fund be initiated, we recommend that the use of the Youth Fund should be transparent. We recommend that there should be at least one representative from each youth association to be on the board members of the Youth Fund. This will be a way to monitor the progress of the use of the fund and share the information within their organisation. We urge that the use Dana Belia Brunei Prihatin should be reviewed and transparent. National Youth Day We express the hope that the National Youth Day should be attended by all the youth in Brunei, by engaging students through invitations from the Ministry of Education and Public Service Department for advertising and promotion purposes. We recommend that National Youth Day to be introduced as a public holiday so that more youth can participate and contribute in the National Youth Day. We express our hope that all youths are publicly invited to the above-mentioned event without limiting the number of youth attendees to celebrate National Youth Day. We recommend that the National Youth Day celebration should be on a bigger scale to allow more participation from youth. For example, organising various activities by utilising the facilities in and surrounding the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium area including but not limited to road along the International Convention Centre. Brunei Youth Council We recommend that the Brunei Youth Council needs to be reintroduced to the youth population of Brunei to create awareness and exposure. There needs to be better promotion of their activities of associations under Brunei Youth Council, as well as implement what has been outlined in the mission and vision to carry out their duties as a council that represents all the youth in Brunei. We recommend the council to be more IT-efficient to share information and activities. We urge the council to be transparent with structural organization and administration. We urge the council to review the current constitution to ensure greater number of young people participates by making the youth council youth-friendly. Youth Issues We recommend the Youth and Sports Department to establish a well-managed database of youth who are still seeking jobs. This includes by preparing them with financial support, relevant training and workshops to educate and empower. We recommend the Youth and Sports Department to encourage Brunei Youth Council and other youth organizations to participate as an agent of change by organizing activities and events to reduce and eventually prevent negative social issues amongst youth. Signed by: